Friends remember bicyclist killed in Wake Forest hit-and-run

In August, a bicyclist was struck by a car and killed in Wake Forest for the first time in at least 15 years.

The head-on crash was reported Aug. 30 around 6:30 a.m. along New Light Road, near the Holly Point campground, according to the State Highway Patrol.

Martin Shipp, 68, of Raleigh, was ejected from his bicycle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver fled the scene. Christina Dingwall, 33, of Wake Forest, was located and taken into the custody. Dingwall was charged with felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.

New Light Road is very narrow in the area, but people who knew him said Shipp would ride the street regularly. Those who rode with him told WRAL News they always felt safe by his side.

“He was the safety guy,” said Nick Bronson, a friend of Shipp. “So for this to happen to him was devastating.”

Even for experienced cyclists like Bronson, New Light Road can feel unsafe.

“I would have been terrified to ride on this road just because, like, it’s so narrow, and these cars come flying by,” Bronson said.

Bronson said, with Shipp, he felt safe.

“I actually felt safe on this road with him at night because he knew where we were going and he had done it a million times,” Bronson said.

Cycling deaths are part of a rising trend in North Carolina, hitting a five-year high of 43 deaths in 2023, a 105% increase from the year before.

Data from the state Department of Transportation shows Shipp’s death is the first cyclist death in Wake Forest since at least 2010.

“It makes me nervous,” Bronson said. “It makes a lot of us nervous. A lot of new cyclists don’t want to be out here on these roads just because they see this happen, they see these cars flying by, and they don’t want to be a part of it. And I don’t blame them.”

Despite his nerves about riding on New Light Road, Bronson said he and others in their group have plans for at least two more rides in the area.

The rides will be a tribute to their friend.